Difference between revisions of "Hominid" - New World Encyclopedia

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Australopithecus africanus, a hominid in both senses of the term.

A hominid is any member of the primate family Hominidae . Recent classification schemes for the apes place extinct and extant humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans in Hominidae, and thus technically hominid refers to members of these groups. However, historically and even in some current classification schemes, Hominidae is restricted to humans and their close extinct relatives—those more similar to humans than to the (other) great apes, which were placed in another family. Thus, there is a tradition for using the term hominid to refer only to humans and such forebears as Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus). In this sense, humans are considered the only surviving hominids.

This more restricted use of the term hominid is common in anthropology, where it has been used for decades to refer only to humans and their extinct relatives. The more expansive meaning is becoming increasing common among zoologists and systematists.

Terminology

The primatological term hominid is easily confused with a number of very similar words:

A hominoid is a member of the superfamily Hominoidea: extant members are the lesser apes (gibbons) and great apes.
A hominid is commonly a member of the family Hominidae: all of the great apes.
A hominine is a member of the subfamily Homininae: gorillas, chimpanzees, humans (excludes orangutans).
A hominin is a member of the tribe Hominini: chimpanzees and humans.
A hominan is a member of the sub-tribe Hominina: humans and their extinct relatives.
A humanoid is a vaguely human-shaped entity.

Historical and current use

For many years, humans were placed in the primate family Hominidae, and considered hominids, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans were placed in the primate family Pongidae, and labeled as pongids. Over time, particularly since the 1960s, the use of morphological and genetic studies led to the recategorization of primates and the placement of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans together in Hominidae. In such a scheme, the use of the term hominid would properly refer to all four groups, and their extinct relatives, and thus hominid is being used more commonly in that sense. Indeed, the terms hominid and "great ape" are now effectively coterminous among many zoologists.

Nonetheless, because of tradition in anthropology, whereby hominid had one clear meaning in the literature for decades, anthropologists commonly use hominid to refer to the group in which humans are the only living representative. Note, for example, eminent evolutionists Ernst Mayr (2001) use in his book What Evolution is (2001): ****,

There is also some resistance to a change in the meaning of hominid, which has been so widely used for such a long time.

Moreover, there is also a taxonomic scheme whereby gorillas and chimpanzees (and the related bonobos) are placed into the Panidae family, while orangutans remain in the Pongidae family, and humans in the Hominidae. In this scheme, the term hominid also applies only to humans and their close relatives.

Certain morphological characteristics are still used conventionally to support the idea that hominid should only denote humans and human ancestors, namely bipedalism and large brains. Other, believe, however, that these points of departure between human beings and the other great apes are important, but taxonomically do not divide us into separate families, and that genetics is the critical test of relatedness— and in this respect humans and the other great apes ought to be of the same family.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Groves, C. 2005. Order Primate. In D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds., Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
Goodman, M. 1974. Biochemical evidence on hominid phylogeny. Annual Review of Anthropology 3: 203–228.
Goodman, M., D. A. Tagle, D. H. Fitch, W. Bailey, J. Czelusniak, B. F. Koop, P. Benson, and J. L. Slightom. 1990. Primate evolution at the DNA level and a classification of hominoids. Journal of Molecular Evolution 30: 260–266.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}
+[[Image:Austrolopithecus africanus.jpg|thumb|240px|''Australopithecus africanus'', a hominid in both senses of the term.]]
+A '''hominid''' is any member of the primate [[taxonomy#Scientific or biological classification|family]] '''[[Hominidae]]''' . Recent classification schemes for the [[ape]]s place extinct and extant [[human]]s, [[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s, and [[orangutan]]s in Hominidae, and thus technically hominid refers to members of these groups. However, historically and even in some current classification schemes, Hominidae is restricted to humans and their close extinct relatives&mdash;those more similar to humans than to the (other) great apes, which were placed in another family. Thus, there is a tradition for using the term hominid to refer only to humans and such forebears as [[Australopithecus]], [[Homo habilis]], and [[Homo erectus]]). In this sense, humans are considered the only surviving hominids.
+This more restricted use of the term hominid is common in [[anthropology]], where it has been used for decades to refer only to humans and their extinct relatives. The more expansive meaning is becoming increasing common among zoologists and systematists.
-A '''hominid''' is any member of the biological family '''[[Hominidae]]''' .
+==Terminology==
-commonly include
+The [[primate|primatological]] term hominid is easily confused with a number of very similar words:
-But also:
-Note: "A primate of the family Hominidae, of which Homo sapiens is the only extant species."
-Note:The biological family that includes our species, Homo sapiens. This family has also included Neanderthals and other forerunners of today's humans, such as Australopithecus, Homo erectus, and Homo habilis. Today's human beings are the only surviving hominids.
-Note:Any member of the zoological family Hominidae (order Primates), which consists of the great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos) as well as human beings. Formerly, only humans (with their extinct forebears) were categorized as hominids, and the great apes were categorized as pongids — that is, members of the primate family Pongidae. However, morphological and molecular studies now indicate that humans are closely related to chimpanzees, while gorillas are more distant and orangutans more distant still. As a result, it has become more common among zoologists to consider humans and great apes to be hominids.
-(the "great apes"), including the extinct and extant [[human]]s, [[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s, and [[orangutan]]s. (This classification has been revised several times in the last few decades. See the [[Hominidae]] and [[Ape#History of hominoid taxonomy|history of hominoid taxonomy]] articles.)
-Note: The term hominid technically refers to any member of the biological family Hominidae (the "great apes"), a group of primates that includes the extinct and extant humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. Originally, however, the term hominid was restricted to humans and their extinct relatives—those more closely related to humans than the other great apes, which were in a different family—and this definition of hominid is still used by many anthropologists and lay people.
-Another classification, which was historically common, was to divide the hominoids into three families, the Hylobatidae (gibbons), the Pongidae (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos), and the Hominidae (humans). In this case, the term hominid accurately applies to all human and humanlike forms, while great apes applies only to gorillas, chimpanzees (and bonobos), and orangutans.
-Some researchers place gorillas and chimpanzees (and the related bonobos) into the Panidae family, while orangutans remain in the Pongidae family, and humans in the Hominidae. Hominids also applies only to humans and their close relatives in this scheme. The bonobos are sometimes considered a variety of chimpanzees and are referred to as pygmy chimpanzees.
-Until about 1960, the apes (hominoids) were usually divided into two families: humans and their extinct relatives in Hominidae, the other apes in Pongidae
-Under current classification, there are two families of hominoids:
-the family Hylobatidae consists of 4 genera and 12 species of gibbons, including the Lar Gibbon and the Siamang, collectively known as the "lesser apes"
-the family Hominidae consisting of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans,[1][2] collectively known as the "great apes".
-Certain [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] characteristics are still used conventionally (though incorrectly) to support the idea that hominid should only denote humans and human ancestors, namely [[bipedalism]] and large [[brain]]s. These points of departure between human beings and the other great apes are important, but taxonomically do not divide us into separate families. [[Genetics]], rather than morphology, is the critical test of relatedness and in this respect humans and the other great apes ought to be of the same family. Indeed, the terms hominid and "great ape" are now effectively coterminous. However, [[anthropologist]]s use the term to mean humans and their direct and near-direct ancestors, despite the changes in the understanding of hominoid taxonomy that have happened in the past several decades.
-Note for example, Mayr's (2001) use in his book ''What Evolution is'' (2001): ****
-The [[primate|primatological]] term is easily confused with a number of very similar words:
 * A [[ape|hominoid]] is a member of the superfamily [[ape|Hominoidea]]: extant members are the lesser apes ([[gibbon]]s) and great apes.
-* A [[hominid]] is a member of the family '''[[Hominidae]]''': all of the great apes.
+* A [[hominid]] is commonly a member of the family '''[[Hominidae]]''': all of the great apes.
 * A [[Homininae|hominine]] is a member of the subfamily [[Homininae]]: gorillas, chimpanzees, humans (excludes [[orangutans]]).
 * A [[Hominini|hominin]] is a member of the tribe [[Hominini]]: chimpanzees and humans.
@@ Line 41: / Line 14: @@
 * A [[humanoid]] is a vaguely human-shaped entity.
+==Historical and current use==
+For many years, humans were placed in the [[primate]] family [[Hominidae]], and considered hominids, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans were placed in the primate family Pongidae, and labeled as pongids. Over time, particularly since the 1960s, the use of morphological and genetic studies led to the recategorization of primates and the placement of humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans together in Hominidae. In such a scheme, the use of the term hominid would properly refer to all four groups, and their [[extinct]] relatives, and thus hominid is being used more commonly in that sense. Indeed, the terms hominid and "great ape" are now effectively coterminous among many zoologists.
+Nonetheless, because of tradition in anthropology, whereby hominid had one clear meaning in the literature for decades, anthropologists commonly use hominid to refer to the group in which humans are the only living representative. Note, for example, eminent evolutionists Ernst Mayr (2001) use in his book ''What Evolution is'' (2001): ****,
+There is also some resistance to a change in the meaning of hominid, which has been so widely used for such a long time.
+Moreover, there is also a taxonomic scheme whereby gorillas and chimpanzees (and the related bonobos) are placed into the Panidae family, while orangutans remain in the Pongidae family, and humans in the Hominidae. In this scheme, the term hominid also applies only to humans and their close relatives.
+Certain [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] characteristics are still used conventionally  to support the idea that hominid should only denote humans and human ancestors, namely [[bipedalism]] and large [[brain]]s. Other, believe, however, that these points of departure between human beings and the other great apes are important, but taxonomically do not divide us into separate families, and that [[genetics]] is the critical test of relatedness&mdash; and in this respect humans and the other great apes ought to be of the same family.
 ==References==
-Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 178-184. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
+*Groves, C. 2005. Order Primate. In D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds., ''Mammal Species of the World'', 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
-^ a b M. Goodman, D. A. Tagle, D. H. Fitch, W. Bailey, J. Czelusniak, B. F. Koop, P. Benson, J. L. Slightom (1990). "Primate evolution at the DNA level and a classification of hominoids". Journal of Molecular Evolution 30: 260–266.
+* Goodman, M. 1974. [http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.an.03.100174.001223 Biochemical evidence on hominid phylogeny.] ''Annual Review of Anthropology'' 3: 203–228.
+* Goodman, M., D. A. Tagle, D. H. Fitch, W. Bailey, J. Czelusniak, B. F. Koop, P. Benson, and J. L. Slightom. 1990. Primate evolution at the DNA level and a classification of hominoids. ''Journal of Molecular Evolution'' 30: 260–266.